Belichick kicked off his Monday press conference to shed light on his side of the story -- something he loves to do -- explaining what happened after Ravens K Justin Tucker ended the contest with a 27-yard field goal that appeared to sail directly over the right upright.

"I saw our players waving that it was no good, and I saw the officials giving the signal that it was good. I just wasn't sure from where I was standing whether the ball -- when it went over the crossbar, was above the upright or in-between or not in-between the uprights," said Belichick, who was trying to determine if Tucker's kick was being reviewed.

"So, when the game was over, I went out, and I was really looking for an explanation from the officials as to whether the play was under review, and I did try to get the official's attention as he was coming off the field to ask that, but I really wasn't able to do that."

Indeed, the official pretty much did an unbraking drive-by even as Belichick tried to corral him before shaking the hand of Ravens coach John Harbaugh.

"I've coached in this league a long time and never been penalized," he said, omitting that aforementioned controversy in 2007, "never had any incidents with officials or anything like that. I have never meant any disrespect or in any way tried to abuse or be disrespectful to the officials and the job that they do.

"I was just trying to get an explanation for obviously an important call, play, in that game."

Naturally, Patriots beat writers had follow-up questions, and Belichick wasn't really in the mood to do much more re-hashing after a night when he spent much of this time roaring at the men in stripes. But he did hint not all that subtly that a major problem between the replacements and the teams (players and coaches) is a lack of give and take that's expected from the NFL's regular zebras.

"From the time when we meet with the officials in the spring, to when the officials come to training camp, to before every game when we meet with officials -- both in pregame and on the field when we meet with the referee -- the thing that we always communicate about is communication," said Belichick, detailing the weekly ritual of talking to the refs about gadget plays, situational challenges, etc.

"There sometimes are gaps in it that we need to close, but when you talk to them and say, 'Who is the foul on?' 'We're not sure, but I'll find out for you and get back to you on it.' ' OK, great.'

"Sometimes they have the information; sometimes they don't. But when they don't, then they usually get back to you as soon as they can get it, after a TV timeout or after they've had a chance to talk to whoever it was that made the call. That's normal. That's just the way it is."

Or isn't right now, giving things certainly aren't normal from the men in black and white.

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About Reid and Mike

Reid Cherner has been with USA TODAY since 1982 and written Game On! since March 2008.

He has covered everything from high schools to horse racing to the college and the pros. The only thing he likes more than his own voice is the sound of readers telling him when he's right and wrong.

Michael Hiestand has covered sports media and marketing for USA TODAY, tackling the sports biz ranging from what's behind mega-events such as the Olympics and Super Bowl to the sometimes-hidden numbers behind the sports world's bottom line.